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How many PC machines does one need to play all PC games? Well, *almost* all - I don't care about some crap games that only run on some very specific hardware. I don't care for the games to run to their best - I just want them to run good enough to be fun. It's more important to keep the number...

Yes, I know about XT-IDE. But there's one problem with it: incompatibility with classical XT MFM controllers, like that IBM/Xebec thing found in a 5160, which prevents it from working with systems that bypass BIOS, notably PC/IX and Xenix. So I'm thinking about another approach: a controller...

I've found a card marked "NOVELL INC.", "BOARD 738-61-001 REV. B", apparently from 1987, just like this one - https://www.recycledgoods.com/novell-inc-738-61-001-rev-b-810-61-001/ Seems like a key for some software - but what exactly? Some early Netware version?

It was considered impossible. But now there's this - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Improved-CMS-Upgrade-Kit-for-Sound-Blaster-2-0-CT1350B-compatible-with-CT1336A/283307302605 Can anybody confirm that it actually works?

I've got a card with TVGA 8800CS chipset, 512 KB of RAM, for 8-bit ISA. Thought it would be the perfect card for a fast Turbo XT. But I can't find fully working software for it - there's something on Vogonsdrivers, but SVM.EXE refuses to work, needs 8900 chipset. I've found some Windows 3.1...

I've been thinking about PC history in general, since the very beginning, till now. And it occured to me that many important technologies were introduced (or got common) pretty much together, within short time periods. So, it's possible to draw five eras in PC history, each characterized with...

One of the display types supported by many BIOSes is "EGA/PGA/VGA". EGA and VGA are obvious, but what's PGA? I heard an explanation that it must be IBM PGC, that 640x480x8bpp card from 1984. However, there's a problem: the "EGA/PGA/VGA" setting seems to expect the card to come with its own BIOS...

IBM PC DOS 7.0 was shipped with IBM Antivirus. Later on, IBM ceased to support their Antivirus, instead licensed Norton AntiVirus, making it available for download for PC DOS users. And it's still downloadable - ftp://ftp.symantec.com/comwrap/navibmdw.exe ...along with the tool to uninstall IBM...

I'm playing with Windows 3.1 and TCP/IP - works OK with Trumpet Winsock 3.0, but requires manual IP address setup, there's also "bootp" option but doesn't work with DHCP server. So, the question: anybody can recommend some TCP/IP package for Windows 3.1 (regular, not "for Workgroups" or 3.11)...

So I'm benchmarking some math software on a 386 with FPU, and want to measure the performance impact of the FPU. But I don't feel like physically removing the chip - anybody knows a program to disable it?

I want to build a modern PC with a bunch of older drives, mostly ATAPI: ZIP, LS-120, etc. Due to shortage of conventional PCI slots, I want them all controlled by a single card. There's plenty of PCI controllers with many PATA ports, up to 12 even, like 3Ware Escalade 7500 or Promise SuperTrak...

In the 90s I used to transfer large data amounts between PCs by temporarily-attached regular IDE HDDs, sometimes with the help of removable racks. Once I wanted to do that with a Macinstosh, but no luck, as it only had SCSI. So the question is: is there an IDE controller for pre-PCI Macs? Was...

I've got a 386DX/40, which was working fine with AHA-1520B (non-bus-master, DMA disabled) and Pro Audio Spectrum 16. But I've replaced the SCSI host adapter with AHA-1542CF (bus-master, needs DMA). Seemed to work great, disk throughput increased by 40%. But then I tried to play some music - WAV...

The original 5160 had a 10 MB HDD. Later 5160 variants had 20 MB. PS/2 Model 30 (8086) had 20 MB. All the clones I saw had 20 MB, with the exception of some low-end ones with no HDD at all - eg. Amstrad PC1512SD, Commodore PC-10, and many portables. But I've never seen an XT-class machine with...

I've got an ET4000/W32i card, with 8514 emulation drivers - obviously providing the Adapter Interface. So I'm looking for some software to test this feature. Apparently AutoCAD can use the AI, but it's complicated and probably needs a hardware key. Anything else?

I'm trying to install more RAM on this board. Currently it has 1 MB in DIP chips. I installed 4 x 1 MB SIPP modules, but the board couldn't see them, and still counted to 1024 KB. Obviously I need to set the DIP-switches, but can't find any info on this board. Anybody recognizes it and can help?

Once upon a time I found this video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a324ykKV-7Y But it isn't complete, so I'm trying to do a better list of the early era, before AdLib (1987): 1981 - IBM PC Speaker 1983 - IBM PCjr SN76489, also in Tandy 1000 (1984) 1984 - IBM PCjr Speech Adapter 1984 - MPU-401...

In IBM 5160, the BIOS dated 01/10/86 adds support for 720KB floppy drives. I installed a 1.44MB FDD (for use with DD media, of course) in some late XT clone, one with that highly-integrated Faraday chipset. It would be reasonable to assume that such a late clone has a BIOS with all the features...

What's the worst computer you've ever encountered? Or the worst computer you can possibly imagine? For me, "the worst" *isn't* just one with the lowest processing power and storage, as this would inevitably lead to ENIAC and other 1940s iron. It *isn't* something with the worst performance...

So I noticed that people with vintage PCs like to play with Windows 1.xx/2.xx. But, as far as I recall, back in their times these versions were pretty much unheard of, it all seemed to begin with 3.0. So, is Windows 1/2 more popular now than back then?